oligarchy

noun/ˈɑlɪˌɡɑrki/

Frequency rank: #15,041 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

a form of government in which a small group of people holds all the power.

Illustration for the English word “oligarchy”

Example sentence

The small nation was governed as a strict oligarchy, a system in which power was held by just a handful of wealthy families.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 15,001–15,100